Soap Opera Digest Awards

In a world where celebrities are constantly bombarded with paparazzi and where every detail of their life is public information, it seems very difficult for many to keep a long-term relationship. These twelve couples are among some of the most stable and enduring celebrity pairs of our time. They defy the odds by sticking through it and often, by keeping their lives as private as they possibly can.
1. Meryl Streep and Don Gummer: 36 years
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Meryl Streep opted out of marrying someone famous and married this friend of her brother. Because Meryl wanted to keep her marriage out of the spotlight, it is still very impressive how little the world knows about him. The couple have four children together, and when Meryl finally did mention him in her 2012 Oscars' acceptance speech it was adorable. "“I’m going to thank Don because when you thank your husband at the end of the speech they play him out with the music and I want him to know that everything I value most in our lives you’ve given me," she said.
2. Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne: 32 years
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This couple has had their fair share of ups and downs, but have remained together nonetheless. They met in England when Sharon's father, a music manager and concert producer, managed Black Sabbath, the band Ozzy was the lead singer of. Ozzy was kicked out of the band because of drug abuse and Sharon ended up taking him on as a client. Ozzy continued to struggle with substance abuse and was even arrested for attempting to strangle Sharon while under the influence.
3. Denzel Washington and Pauletta Washington: 31 years
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According to HelloBeautiful, this couple met while co-starring in the film Wilma in 1977. Five years later, they were married and now have four children together. According to the site, Pauletta told Oprah that she fell in love with his personality first. “I thought he was cute, but I fell in love with his spirit. And then I thought, ‘Hmm, not a bad package,'" she said.
4. Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest: 29 years
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According to People, Jamie first saw Christopher in a magazine when he was an actor in the spoof The is Spinal Tap. She felt an immediate connection to him. "That's why I developed my smirk—which is why, when I looked at Chris's smirk in the picture, I basically saw myself. I saw a kindred spirit," she says of seeing his photo. Jamie gave him her number through an agent and the two became bicoastal lovers soon after. They married in 1984 and have adopted two kids, Annie and Thomas.
5. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson: 26 years
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The pair originally met while Tom was still married to his college sweetheart on the set of ABC sitcom, Blossoming Buddies, when Rita guest starred for an episode. They didn't get together despite the chemistry they both felt, until after Tom's divorce in 1987. In 1988, they married and have since had two children together. "Literally, a wave of — if love is a feeling, or a cellular thing that happens to your body, it went through me, and that’s pretty much who he is, and how he’s been," Rita said of their relationship to Piers Morgan in 2012.
6. Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick: 26 years
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Interestingly enough, the couple first met when Kyra was 12, at a viewing of a matinee play Kevin starred in. He was 19 at the time and nothing came of the meeting, except Kyra's brother urging her to tell him how much she enjoyed the play. Their relationship started several years later when they worked on the set of Lemon Sky together.
7. Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan: 26 years
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This pair is especially inspirational as they have continually supported each other through a chronic illness. They met while working on Family Ties in 1985, but didn't start dating until two years later. Early on in their marriage, Michael was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, but the couple have remained stable. "When we married, we married--and that was it. We were in love then, as we are now, and we planned to stay married," Michael told O Magazine in 2002.
8. John Travolta and Kelly Preston: 23 years
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Despite losing their 16-year-old son, Jett, in 2009, the pair have stayed strong. They first met while filming The Experts, but nothing formed except for a friendship, because Kelly was married at the time. John told Redbook what he thought of her initially: "I had interest in her because even in spite of the trouble that she was having in her marriage, she was willing to stick through tough times with him, which really showed character. I just remember thinking, God, if we're ever single at the same time, I think this is really the one."
9. David Bowie and Iman: 22 years
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According to Huffington Post, the rockstar and supermodel fell in love on a blind date in 1990 and were married two years later. The couple are very quiet about their life and their love story, but do have two children, Zulekha (Iman's child from a previous marriage) and Alexandria. Iman told The Independent that though David knew it was love at first sight, she was a little overwhelmed at first. “I was not ready for a relationship. Definitely, I didn't want to get into a relationship with somebody like him," she said.
10. Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos: 18 years
Getty Images/Barry King
This beautiful couple met on the set of All My Children where they were onscreen lovers. According to People, they dated secretly for a year and then eloped in Las Vegas. In fact this photo is from their onscreen marriage, because much of their offscreen romance has been kept secret. "It just happened. The next thing you know, we're married, and then four months later we were pregnant," Consuelos told Redbook. The couple have three children.
11. Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness: 18 years
Getty Images/Patrick Riviere
The couple first met in 1995 in Melbourne, Australia on the set of the TV drama Correlli. They both felt initial attraction and though Hugh hesitated to propose, he overcame it and they were married a year later. "I decided, I won't ask her to marry me for six months," Jackman told Town and Country magazine. "Then after four months I thought, that's the most ridiculous rule!" The couple have two children, Oscar and Ava. "It gets better every year," Furness said.
12. Sarah Jessica Parker and Mathew Broderick: 17 years
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Another couple that have successfully kept their relationship under wraps, Sarah and Matthew refuse to say much about the secrets to their success. In last year's Harper's Bazaar, Sarah did gush about him shorthly. “There’s also the reality of your life,” she said. “I love Matthew Broderick. Call me crazy, but I love him. We can only be in the marriage we are. We’re very devoted to our family and our lives. I love our life. I love that he’s the father of my children, and it’s because of him that there’s this whole other world that I love.”

World War II was one of the most important events, not only in American history, but in the overall record of human events. Hollywood has not been shy about using the medium of film to tell the innumerable great stories of WWII and the ones we know well have had more than their fair share of cinematic interpretations: the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Holocaust, and the Normandy Invasion, just to name a few. However, there are quite a few stories that go largely overlooked and this week, one film being released in theaters strives to change that.
Anthony Hemingway’s Red Tails (produced by none other than Star Wars mastermind George Lucas), tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen. This elite group of the first African-American Air Force pilots, who faced a great deal of racism as they came through training, rose beyond their hardships and proved to be some of the most successful fighters in the Air Force. The film stars, among others, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terence Howard. While most people still remember Cuba from his Oscar-winning role in Jerry Maguire and Terence Howard from the likes of Hustle and Flow and Iron Man, there are plenty of up-and-coming young actors in the film on whom we highly recommend you keep an eye as their careers are poised to soar as high as the bombers they pilot in the film.
David Oyelowo
If you were among those lucky enough to experience the surprise hit Rise of the Planet of the Apes in theaters last summer, then you’ll probably have no problem recognizing David Oyelowo. He played the treacherous Jacobs, the head of the company handling the drug tests on the apes. Oyelowo also appeared in 2011’s runaway hit The Help, which has already won a number of awards, the riveting BBC mini-series Five Days, and will next appear in Lee Daniel’s The Paperboy alongside Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman.
Nate Parker
The first thing that will strike you about Nate Parker is his staggering resemblance to a young Denzel Washington; there is something about his smile and his strong jaw line that warrants the comparison. It is therefore fitting that Parker appeared with Denzel in the 2007 drama The Great Debaters; based on a true story. That same year, Parker appeared in Pride, also based on a true story, alongside his Red Tails costar Terence Howard. With those two films under his belt, along with another war epic entitled Tunnel Rats, it’ll be interesting to watch him take on a war drama on a much larger scale.
Michael B. Jordan
Though he shares his name with an NBA legend, Michael B. Jordan owes much of his acting career to a different icon. Jordan was discovered by Bill Cosby, who cast him in an episode of his 1999 TV series Cosby. From there Jordan landed roles in two phenomenally successful series: The Wire and Friday Night Lights. He also had a long-running spot on All My Children for which he was nominated for three Image Awards as well as a Soap Opera Digest Award for Favorite Teen. Jordan will next been seen in found footage superhero drama Chronicle.
Elijah Kelley
Twenty-five-year-old Elijah Kelley is what has traditionally been referred to as a triple threat; he acts, he sings, and he dances. He got a chance to show off his dancing chops in the 2006 drama Take the Lead starring Antonio Banderas. He then got to show off his pipes in the 2007 remake of Hairspray. In addition to being such a versatile talent in front of the camera, Kelly has proven to be quite the philanthropist off screen. He’s set up a foundation in his hometown of LaGrange, Georgia to help local children achieve their dreams.
Ne-Yo
If you aren’t familiar with Shaffer Chimere Smith Jr. the actor, you may be better acquainted with his hip-hop alias Ne-Yo. He’s been topping charts and blowing up radio stations since his first album ‘In My Own Words’ dropped in 2006. As to his crossover into acting, he’s appeared 2007’s Stomp the Yard as well as last year’s sci-fi epic Battle Los Angeles. After Red Tails, Ne-Yo will next be seen in Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds.

It's good to be loved by teens. Profitable, too. Carson Daly As MTV's Carson Daly is learning.
The video-introducer guy from the music network's signature "Total Request Live" broadcast has inked a deal to move up to the network big leagues. In something of a twist, the development pact is with CBS -- MTV's demographic polar opposite.
So is CBS going to try to convert the 26-year-old Daly to its "Diagnosis Murder" ways? Don't know yet, although the net has dispatched him in the past to host those ultimate old-school entertainment staples: beauty pageants. Whatever the case, Daly is covering his bases. The newly formed Carson Daly Productions will churn out stuff for both CBS and MTV.
Speaking of being loved by teens, Daly -- formerly best known as Jennifer Love Hewitt's boyfriend turned ex-boyfriend -- has been linked of late to 19-year-old Grammy-winning popster Christina Aguilera. The two insist, however, that they're on a strictly veejay/video-artist relationship.
HE'S GOT THE JUICE: So, if you were going to place bets on who would turn out to be the most successful player from the O.J. Simpson murder trial saga, the odds on Mark Fuhrman probably would have been as long as O.J.'s. But lookie here: Fuhrman, last seen toiling on the stand as the disgraced Los Angeles detective who found O.J.'s ... er, found a glove at the Nicole Brown Simpson/Ronald Goldman crime scene, has landed a TV deal with Fox, today's Daily Variety reports. The network has optioned Fuhrman's book, "Murder in Connecticut," about another infamous real-life homicide case (this one involving the Kennedy clan), with an eye on giving the story the tasteful TV docudrama treatment.
DRAMA QUEENS (AND KINGS): ABC's "General Hospital" was the big winner at the 16th Annual Soap Opera Digest Awards on Friday in Hollywood. The hour-long serial about lovers and ex-lovers and people-you-thought-were-dead-but-really-aren't took five categories, including favorite show. "Hospital's" Anthony Geary, who if you'll recall the last time you tuned in during junior high was playing that curly haired guy named Luke, was named outstanding lead actor for still playing that guy named Luke. (Although, in fairness, at least the curly hair is gone.) Kim Zimmer of CBS's "Guiding Light," the hour-long serial about lovers and ex-lovers and people-you-thought-were-dead-but-really-aren't, was tapped outstanding lead actress.

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 14, 2000 - It's good to be loved by teens. Profitable, too. As MTV's Carson Daly is learning.
The video-introducer-guy from the music network's signature "Total Request Live" broadcast has inked a deal to move up to the network big leagues. In something of a twist, the development pact is with CBS - MTV's demographic polar opposite.
So is CBS going to try to convert the 26-year-old Daly to its "Diagnosis Murder" ways? Don't know yet, although the net has dispatched him in the past to host those ultimate old-school entertainment staples: beauty pageants. Whatever the case, Daly is covering his bases. The newly formed Carson Daly Productions will churn out stuff for both CBS and MTV.
Speaking of being loved by teens, Daly -- formerly best known as Jennifer Love Hewitt's boyfriend turned ex-boyfriend -- has been linked of late to 19-year-old Grammy-winning popster Christina Aguilera. The two insist, however, they're on a strictly veejay/video-artist relationship.
DRAMA QUEENS (AND KINGS): ABC's "General Hospital" was the big winner at the 16th Annual Soap Opera Digest Awards, Friday in Hollywood. The hour-long serial about lovers and ex-lovers and people-you-thought-were-dead-but-really-aren't took five categories, including favorite show. "Hospital's" Anthony Geary, who if you'll recall the last time you tuned in during junior high was playing that curly-haired guy named Luke, was named outstanding lead actor for still playing that guy named Luke. (Although, in fairness, at least the curly hair is gone.) Kim Zimmer of CBS' "Guiding Light," the hour-long serial about lovers and ex-lovers and people-you-thought-were-dead-but-really-aren't, was tapped outstanding lead actress.

Synopsis

A two-hour telecast of the ceremonies honoring the winners in the 4th annual Soap Opera Digest Awards. Readers of the magazine cast their ballots to honor shows and performers in 21 categories, covering programs in both daytime and prime-time television.